PlantPeers
Back to Catalog
No image available
Asteraceae FAMILY Least Concern

Arnica montana

Arnica montana

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
4/5

Safety & Hazards

The whole plant is toxic and should only be used for external applications to unbroken skin[1, 2, 3, 4].

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Arnica montana is a plant of montane areas in the temperate zone, where it is found at elevations up to 2,500 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 8 - 15°c, but can tolerate 5 - 25°c[5]. The dormant plant can survive temperatures down to about -25°c or lower[6]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 500 - 800mm, but tolerates 400 - 1,200mm[5]. Succeeds in full sun and also in the dappled shade of an open woodland[7, 8, 5]. Prefers a moist, well-drained humus rich soil, preferably lime-free[9]. One report says that it is often found in calcareous soils in the wild[10]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 7, tolerating 5 - 7.5[5]. Prefers a mixture of sand, loam and peat[7]. Succeeds in light woodland[2] and in a rock garden or border[7, 2]. This species is declining in the wild, probably because of over-collection as a medicinal herb. It may become extinct in part of its range[9].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in pots outdoors. Sow stored seed in early spring in a cold frame[11]. A period of cold stratification is helpful[12]. The fresh seed can germinate in 3 - 4 weeks at 13°c according to one report[8], though it can be slow, difficult and erratic and take 2 years to germinate[13]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out into their permanent positions in the following spring. Division in spring. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Arnica+montana>

Pollinators

Bees, Flies, Lepidoptera, Self

References

  1. [1]Edible and Medicinal Plants. — Launert. E. · Hamlyn · 1981 · ISBN 0-600-37216-2 ↩︎Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.
  2. [2]Complete Guide to Herbs. — Holtom. J. and Hylton. W. · Rodale Press · 1979 · ISBN 0-87857-262-7 ↩︎A good herbal.
  3. [3]A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. — Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. · Wolfe · 1984 · ISBN 0723408394 ↩︎Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.
  4. [4]Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest. — Schofield. J. J. · Alaska Northwest Books; Alaska · 2003 · ISBN 0882403699 ↩︎A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.
  5. [5]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  6. [6]Perennials. Volumes 1 and 2. — Phillips. R. & Rix. M. · Pan Books · 1991 · ISBN 0-330-30936-9 ↩︎Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.
  7. [7]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  8. [8]Growing from Seed. Volume 2. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.
  9. [9]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  10. [10]Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. — Chiej. R. · MacDonald · 1984 · ISBN 0-356-10541-5 ↩︎Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.
  11. [11]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  12. [12]Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. — Bown. D. · Dorling Kindersley, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0-7513-020-31 ↩︎A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
  13. [13]The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism — Stuart. M. (Editor) · Orbis Publishing. London. · 1979 · ISBN 0-85613-067-2 ↩︎Excellent herbal with good concise information on over 400 herbs.
  14. [14]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  15. [15]The Complete Homeopathy Handbook. — Castro. M. · Macmillan. London. · 1990 · ISBN 0-333-55581-3 ↩︎A concise beginner's guide to the subject. Very readable.
  16. [16]The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants — Chevallier. A. · Dorling Kindersley. London · 1996 · ISBN 9-780751-303148 ↩︎An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
  17. [17]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  18. [18]The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism. — Mills. S. Y. ↩︎An excellent small herbal.